


Freyna's Tears

by KoalaOtter



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2019-02-18 06:05:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13093977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KoalaOtter/pseuds/KoalaOtter
Summary: So, an ex-SOLDIER and a Deep Ground Tsviet walk into a bar...





	Freyna's Tears

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Skyeec2](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyeec2/gifts).



Cloud strode up to the bar and collapsed onto a stool. 

“The usual?” the bartender asked, eyes still looking at the glass he’d been cleaning.

Cloud grunted, head still resting on the bar.

He looked up at the sound of four plastic bottles hitting the bar top.

“Thanks.”

He turned to see a woman in a red leather jacket chuckling as she swirled her glass of red wine. Cloud turned back to his bottles and opened the first, swallowing a few gulps before setting it back down.

“Ah, you military men. You all drink so deeply of your chocobo piss.” The wine in the woman’s glass was dark, like chocolate with glimmers of bright red at the edges. 

“It’s cheap and effective.” He took another swig.

“Of course. So effective you require four bottles,” she said, smirking.

“I really only need three. The fourth is to throw at people who don’t stop talking to me.”

Her smile widened, and she took another sip of her wine.

“You are a funny SOLDIER.”

“...Excuse me?” Cloud turned to look at her now, immediately tense. She set her glass on the counter, staring at it as the liquid inside settled. 

“Please, it is quite obvious. You were formerly a SOLDIER, and if I recall, fought alongside a fellow named Vincent Valentine?”

Cloud jumped to his feet, stool falling behind him, hand on his weapon.

“Who are you?”

“Calm yourself darling, I have no intention of harming you or anyone else at the moment.” She downed her glass of wine in a single motion and hailed the bartender for another. 

“Answer my question.”

“I am known as Rosso the Crimson, a Tsviet of Deep Ground.” She chuckled again as Cloud’s grip tightened. “Oh relax darling, my only intention is to enjoy my wine.”

“What happened to that whole ‘end the world’ thing?” 

“Ach, the buffoons who remain in Deep Ground are incapable of being useful. I do not burden myself with idiots when I can avoid it.”

Rosso held up two fingers to the bartender, who poured two more glasses of the chocolatey wine and placed them in front of her.

“A peace offering, as you say.” She slid the second glass of wine over to him, and toasted him with her own.

Cloud scoffed.

“And you call my drinks chocobo piss.” He grabbed his fallen stool and flipped it up under himself.

“Do you even know what sits before you, darling?”

“Given the color I would say it’s a winter blend from the western mountains.” He picked up the glass and swirled the liquid, wafting the scent into his nose. 

“An older vintage, given the acidity, and,” he took a sip, “aged in cedar with heavy berries. It is the Nibelheim 20 year vintage Vinviðir.” Cloud slid the glass back over to her. “Like I said, chocobo piss.”

“You have a trained palette, I see. Where did you find the time for such thorough training and bad taste?”

“I’ve spent a lot of time in Nibelheim.” Cloud finished the contents of his bottle and tossed the plastic into an empty bin behind the bar. 

“Ah, time in war, I see. Very well, then if my refined taste is unsuitable for you, perhaps it is your turn.”

“...turn to what?” Cloud asked, cracking open another bottle.

“To choose. If my wine is not suitable, you shall choose our drink. I offered you a drink, darling. It would be quite rude of you to refuse my offer.”

“Well, I’m a rude person.”

“Tsk, Tsk, darling,” she turned to face him, crossing her legs and bending forward slightly, “I would advise you not to offend me.” Her hand slid over her thigh, pushing her jacket to the side and settling on the gunblade stretching down the length of her leg. 

“I thought you only wanted to enjoy your wine,” Cloud said, the edge seeping back into his voice.

“Oh, I did. But plans change, particularly when rude SOLDIERS refuse my courtesy.” Her smile sat unnervingly still as her finger tips slid over the barrel. 

“Fine,” he huffed, calling over the bartender. “Vanheir collection, special vintage.”

“This is not a wine I have heard of before. Please, tell me its story.”

Cloud sighed and took a few more gulps from his bottle.

“The grapes used in the wine grow near the entrance to a cave in the Nibel mountains. The vineyards in the area tried to cultivate them for awhile, but anything they did just ruined the flavor of the fruit. Somewhere along the way, a legend developed. Supposedly, a young craftsman named Orl went into the cave to find a crystal for his beloved Freyna, who the wine is named after. Something he could fashion into a ring for their wedding. He found the crystals and broke off a chunk that he could work with, but as he was finding his way out, he was killed by a cave in. The crystal he removed left cracks in the stone, and, well, you get the idea.”

The bartender placed a small wine bottle with a gold label and two tasting glasses in front of Cloud and Rosso. 

“These are rather small glasses for legendary wine.” Rosso picked up the tasting glass and frowned.

“It’s part of the story. After three days, Freyna got concerned, and went into the mountains to find him. When she saw the crystal in his hand and realized why he went into the mountains, her heart shattered, and all she could do was weep. After nine days with no food or sleep, they say the planet took pity on her, and swallowed her so that she could be with her beloved. Legend says that the grapes took root in Freyna’s broken heart, and her tears gave them life.”

Cloud took the bottle and poured two glasses. “Legend also says that because her love gave the fruit life, it’s the most powerful wine in existence, and a tiny glass will get even the largest beast drunk.”

“Hm,” Rosso said, picking up the glass and breathing in the aroma. “That is quite a legend. Do you find it to be true?”

“No. It’s a story. But it’s also a damn good wine.” 

Rosso roared with laughter. “I can toast to that, darling.” 

They touched glasses and each downed the liquid in a single gulp.

* * * * *

Cloud opened his eyes and flinched at the light pouring through the open window. He pulled himself out of the bed and pulled the curtains shut, his arms aching from the effort and his back sore. 

“What the hell happened last night?” he mumbled, rubbing the drowsiness from his eyes. 

Cloud froze as his eyes came back into focus. The scene before him was from a nightmare. He was in a hotel room, an expensive one from the looks of it, and it had been completely and irreparably destroyed. 

The mirror was shattered, small pinpricks of blood dried on the tips of the glass. One of the closet doors was hanging from its hinges. Pillows had been torn open and thrown across the room. The headboard was dented in multiple places, and one of the bed legs had snapped. 

Cloud’s eyes settled on the red-haired woman lying spread eagle on the enormous bed. Light bruises covered most of her back and sides. The sheets shuffled as she rolled over, revealing enough to confirm she was, in fact, naked. Cloud turned away quickly, only to realize that he was also, in fact, naked. He grabbed one of the more intact towels and wrapped it around his waist before pacing. 

“What the hell happened last night?!” He racked his brain, trying to sort through the flashes of memory. 

Rosso stirred, one arm flipping the tangled mess of hair out of her face. She flashed out of bed, her arm instinctively grazing her thigh for her weapon. She relaxed as she saw Cloud, who was attempting to look at her and cover his eyes simultaneously.

“WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED LAST NIGHT?!” Cloud screamed.

Rosso sighed and grabbed her clothes, dressing swiftly and strapping her gunblade back on her thigh.

“Calm down, SOLDIER. Given your attire, it seems we became much better acquainted last night.” She smirked, walking over and pushing him down in a chair. 

“Now that you are awake, you can explain.”

“What exactly do you want me to explain? I have no idea what’s going on!”

“What do you remember of last night?”

“Not much.” Cloud raked his hands through his hair, trying to solidify the fuzzy images of the night before. “We finished the bottle of wine at the bar, and then…did we...  
...during a...bar fight?”

Rosso’s eyes widened slightly, the memory coming back to her. 

“No. I do recall this cuddling, but I am certain it was not a bar fight. It was one of your compatriots...Cid, I believe?”

“Wait. Wait I remember now…We were cuddling on the bed, and you asked if we could start a bar fight.”

“That certainly sounds like me,” Rosso chuckled.

“I told you I had a better idea...but what did we actually end up doing?”

“As best as I can remember, we went to a shack in the middle of nowhere where your engineer friend was asleep. You started screaming about tea, and then, I believe, is when I got my fight.”

“We got in a fight. With Cid. Over tea.” Cloud sighed and collapsed back in the chair, hands sliding down his face.

“It seems clear that we were both thoroughly intoxicated, darling.” Rosso took a seat on the bed, elbows resting on her knees. 

“What I do not understand,” she said, brows furrowing in concern, “is how either of us managed that in the first place. You are a SOLDIER and I am a Tsviet. We do not lose our judgement so easily.”

“We only had the wine, and I’ve had that wine before. I’ve had bottles of it before and it did nothing!”

“What about the legend? Surely more than one has tried that wine and seen the stories are false. Why does the legend still live?”

“I’ve seen other people get drunk on it before, but I assumed they were just lightweights because we were at…” Cloud’s eyes widened, his face shifting between shock and disbelief as Rosso stared. 

“At what?”

“There’s, uh...there’s one more part to the legend.” Cloud shifted in his seat, awkwardly shuffling his arms between his lap and the armchair.

“So, this wine is usually served at weddings, that’s where I’d always had it. It’s considered good luck, being born out of love and all. Some think the tradition started because...well because they believe the wine will only get you drunk if you drink it with…” Cloud sighed, shoulders dropping, “...with your soulmate.”

Rosso sat up straight, eyes unblinking as she stared at Cloud. 

“Soulmate? Are you suggesting both of us became intoxicated from a small bottle of wine because we are soulmates?”

Cloud threw his hands in the air and let the drop over the sides of the chair.

“Look I don’t know what to tell you. We were drunk on an apparently legendary wine that only gets you drunk when you’re with your soulmate and Cid is probably going to kill me, so, there you go.” Cloud stood up and started pacing again, one hand keeping the towel around his waist. 

They were silent for a few minutes. Cloud has stopped pacing, now leaning against the wall and banging his head against it softly. 

“Well, darling,” Rosso said, finally turned toward Cloud. “It seems we are stuck with each other, if we intend on ever effectively drinking again.”

Cloud shot her an exasperated glare before returning to banging his head against the wall.

Rosso’s eyes fell on the mini fridge in the corner. 

“Perhaps we can make the best of this situation. I am, after all, quite an optimist,” she said, making her way past Cloud.

“I know. It’s very annoying.” 

Rosso laughed as she opened the fridge. A large grin spread over her face as she reached inside. Cloud turned in time to see her pull out two small wine bottles with gold labels. She quickly uncorked both bottles with a flick of her wrist, and extended one to Cloud.

“A toast, darling. To soulmates.” Her grin widened as she raised her bottle.

“Fuck it,” Cloud finally said, raising his own bottle. “To soulmates!”

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holidays!  
> This was so much fun to write, I hope you enjoy~


End file.
